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Topic: Top Ten Most Hated Figures Ever (Read 9379 times)

I buy ASP-7's all the time for cheap. They look like simple industrial droids that do all the grunt work in the galaxy so I'm happy to have them in my collection. I probably have 150 of them around at this point.

Holy **** dude... that's an industrial droid army! I'd love to see a pic of all those droids.

Yeah, well, I see nothing wrong with Gragra...though I never got that figure. I don't see how both Rebel Fleet troopers are worse than that big hooded Emperor or hunchback attack Death Star 2 Luke. But this is most HATED figures, so reach outward with your feelings!

I suppose the idea is that bad characters make bad figures. I had no use for Clegg Holdfast as a character, because most of the pod racers are stupid, but his figure is quite good. A good figure might change your mind about a character you dislike. Though a bad figure of a good character can leave a bad taste (I still don't own a decent Jango Fett).

I hate the Yuzahn Vong... seriously, I think they're the lamest characters in Star Wars ever, but I don't think their figures were "bad". They're just different and appeal to someone... I was focusing mine somewhat on biased dislike of execution, but ultimately still on the execution... There's tons of Star Wars characters I think are incredibly lame, even beyond the Vong, but they make ok toys ultimately to me. And the POTF2 Fleet Trooper better than the Saga Emperor? At least the Saga Emperor looks ok in the hands (well, hand, I guess) of the shocked Vader figure... Mine's been there since the day I got him, haha. He's pretty much **** for anything else though, I agree. The hood looks better like he's up in the air and it's falling backwards and he's all contorted and stuff.

Death Star 2 Luke is a lot harder for me to make any argument against him being #1, haha. Like I said, I liked the silver hilt... I probably hate him a little less because I wasn't as into the character, plus I probably bought mine for $2 and just tossed the figure/base into the "collection bin" of ugly stuff. He still is attrocious looking and probably offended more than my Fleet Trooper did... The Fleet Trooper, both of them, still suck for the myriad of reasons listed though.

BTW ultimately I say hate what you want from the line... Some things I see more logic to is all, not that anyone's opinions are wrong. Everyone is going to hate a figure for a different reason here I think. There are just way too many variables involved from character favoritism, to what makes a good toy varying by the individual, to character dislike, to accuracy... It's probably why deciding a top 10 is hard. Hell, is the Cruise Missile trooper a figure or a vehicle ya know? It's a little bit of both and it's a figure from the waist up (really only lacking legs), so there's a good argument for its listing I think. And god does it suck. But I can see it as a failed vehicle too.

R3-T2. They totally screwed up the color of the dome. It should be bright red with white panels in the exact same pattern as R2-D2 has a grey dome with blue panels. Instead they basically painted a wide brown stripe around the dome. It's an important droid, too, being both in the streets of Mos Eisley as well as the one used by Wedge during the Battle of Yavin.

Heh, you guys are harsh. Obviously some figures became bad due to newer improved sculpts and articulation. But we still bought those older ones when they came out and enjoyed them.

I'd have to take a serious look at all of the figures to come up with a top 10. There are some stinkers yes, but overall, I'd say Kenner/Hasbro has done a great job. Especially in improving the look and playability of figures.

While of course we have the right to post this kind of thread, I did cringe. It makes me feel as though if Hasbro were reading this, they would get pissed off at collectors and not cater to our needs so closely or ever again.

Like it or no, some of the bad figures did pave the way for newer and often much better figures to be made.

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I'm just a humble collector trying to make his way through the universe...of toy aisles."We are strong. We are resilient. We are American." - President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address 2010

Which is proven in the lists...most are pre 2004 which shows that they did listen. 2004 was sort of a cool year of figures if you look at it, they went deep into the barrel and came back to a more neutral posed figure. I think 30AC and especially Legacy on they have really upped the bar and that shows in the lists

Heh, you guys are harsh. Obviously some figures became bad due to newer improved sculpts and articulation. But we still bought those older ones when they came out and enjoyed them.

Speak for yourself on that... I bought some of them as a loose completist but wasn't ever happy with how they were executed and have championed added articulation and improving sculpts and features (like removable helmets and working holsters) since the day I started buying these in 1995... I have always been critical of what Hasbro makes. Hell, I still am because nothing's perfect. They get praise where's due and criticism where it isn't from me, personally.

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I'd have to take a serious look at all of the figures to come up with a top 10. There are some stinkers yes, but overall, I'd say Kenner/Hasbro has done a great job. Especially in improving the look and playability of figures.

Not forgetting that Hasbro made those improvements in large part because of a vocal group of people saying, "Hey, that ain't good enough... Other toy lines have better.".

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While of course we have the right to post this kind of thread, I did cringe. It makes me feel as though if Hasbro were reading this, they would get pissed off at collectors and not cater to our needs so closely or ever again.

I owe Hasbro zilch. Diddly squat. Nada. They should be quite pleased I have spent as much as I have on their stuff since 1995, so if they're reading this thread and it hurt them in some capacity, I certainly apologize for their sensitivity not being taken into account, however I don't feel bad that the truth was said. And I think if you talked to a lot of Hasbro's reps they'd probably tell you they felt this was wrong, or that was a bad decision, or that didn't work like they'd hoped, and so they changed things.

I recall back in 1999 people making the same argument, right to our very site's administrators, about my reviews. My reviews were overly critical they were told, and that they were hurting Hasbro's feelings and that Hasbro was going to blacklist our site and all this other bull****. That they read everything I wrote and didn't like how harsh and critical I was. I can understand a sculptor who thinks he nailed a likeness getting offended when the collecting community at large criticizes it, however they're also professionals who realize they have a pretty rabid and particular fan-base. Hasbro's adjusted to the criticism, but without it they'd never have adjusted at all. Without it we'd still be getting disproportionate he-men and she-ra's for action figures, with 6 points of articulation and helmets molded onto their heads.

I'll take the vocally critical collector over the one who doesn't want to step on Hasbro's tows any day, personally. It's gotten us a lot of greatness in the line. It took till 2004/2005-ish before the standards for the line improved in general, but it did happen.

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Like it or no, some of the bad figures did pave the way for newer and often much better figures to be made.

Like I said... You'd still be getting the bad figures if it weren't for the criticisms of them. So was it the bad figures that paved the way, or was it the bashing of said bad figures that did it? I'd go with the latter since Hasbro's pretty obviously recognized and reacted to the things collectors have asked for. Very specifically actually.

This isn't a "Hasbro sucks" thread thouh. And I'm sure Hasbro sees that. This is more of a "Look how Hasbro listened to us and improved things dramatically", thread, while still taking jabs and poking fun at the figures that were the bottom of the barrel to many of us.

For me, the "turning of the page" on figures really came with Captain Antilles in the latter part of the Saga line. He wasn't all the way there, but he was cool.

Page two was that first wave of Cantina aliens that had knees, elbows, wrists... They weren't super articulated, but for me they were the first wave of figures that got the "minimum" I felt makes a good action figure. Like the Death Star Gunner... Not SA, but enough articulation at both sets of limbs that you can pose him a lot of different ways and make him really look cool in action poses and neutral poses... He's still my definition of what a figure's standard features should be.

-Neutral pose (no "leaning" ankles, torso, or any other part of his body... Just a nice neutral straight standing pose)-Minimum of 12 points of articulation which are:

2 Angle-Cut Elbow Joints (Ball-Joints are better, but elbows on non-army builders or heroes could be angle-cuts and I'd be content)

2 Cut Wrist Joints

2 Cut Hip Joints

2 Ball/Socket Knees (Knees are the most important to have a ball-joint to me)

1 Ball/Socket Neck Joint (It doesn't cost any more than any other neck articulation style, so go with the ball joints)

1 Cut Waist Joint

That's my minimum on any given figure unless they're a salt-shaker due to plastic robes (which I'm not fond of, but which is necessary at times). I like a little better for Jedi/Army Builders and Heroes... Cantina aliens though? I'd live with that, like we got for the one-eyed guy, or the guy with the nose worm things, both of whom have names that escape me because I don't care about them enough to remember their names, haha.

I'd agree with Scott on 30AC upping the bar by the way. 30AC was probably one of the best overall collections of figures. Some dud moments snuck in like Academy Biggs not having knee joints and that weird staining going on all over his coat, but overall that collection was pretty tops. I honestly dont' know if they've ever done better than that entire collection of figures in my eyes. Between accessories, figure quality, price, line look... I was pretty satisfied with 2007's offerings.

BAD brought a pricehike but at least you got repainted droid parts routinely, and a couple new ones. It offered value.

Vintage offered the best packing to-date, and figure quality has maintained for certain... Well, in general anyway (Medal Han, we're looking at you!). However you've lost the BAD that made you feel sort of like you got something extra, you've seen pretty hefty price-hikes that seem to go beyond what's necessary, and you're not getting anywhere near some of the accessories you did in 2007 (though some do come with cool extras, like the Gammie).

For me though, back to the point, Hasbro improved because of us, not because they were just destined to. I think the Q&A alone (and the fact they even do it) is proof of that. And in general it's been my experience with Hasbro reps that they welcome the criticisms when it's brought to them, especially if you do so in a diplomatic fashion rather than just calling them "Hasblow" like some enjoy, and saying, "You're figure suck, don't you even look at the movies before you make them!?" to them and such... Constructive criticism tends to get actual conversation and ideas flowing.

- Tarfful: This one was more of a disappointment to me. After the AWESOME VOTC Chewie in 2004, we got the equally amazing Sneak Preview Wookie in early 2005. Then comes this flop. Swivel articulation as far as the eye can see and it's just awkward looking. More of a disappointment than anything.

- Battle Droid (any since 2002): A combination of soft plastic and pre-posing doesn't allow these things to stand. I think they've been "fixed" to a point recently, but I don't personally own any. The eyes are still wonky from pics I've seen, and I think they can add ball joints in the arms somewhere. If they can do it to the Super Battle Droid, why not this one?

- Naboo Soldier: Uh, yeah. Another one of those "just look at" figures. Awkward articulation and a goofy "buff" sculpt, not to mention that it's freakishly tall too.

This isn't a "Hasbro sucks" thread thouh. And I'm sure Hasbro sees that. This is more of a "Look how Hasbro listened to us and improved things dramatically", thread, while still taking jabs and poking fun at the figures that were the bottom of the barrel to many of us.

Exactly. A little flashback to the decisions of the past can make you appreciate the decisions they made later down the line because people did criticize them in the past.

Yeah, most things POTF2 would qualify, but I tend to think of them with some nostalgia at this point. A lot of vintage figures are ****** too, but they're a product of the era. That's not to say that everything that was reasonably released in POTF2 shouldn't (and probably has) be redone as a new, realistic sculpt. Well, some things don't need to be redone. But I'm keeping some of my POTF2 original 12 that correspond to the vintage original 12 and then the best modern versions as well.

This thread is depressing though because it reminds me of all the money I threw at absolute garbage along the way so I could be "complete". It took me probably 13 years to come to my senses. That's a lot of coin.

I really can't include much of anything from the 1995-1998 era on my list, and it's because no matter how dated those figures are, and how horribly roided out some of those sculpts can be, they made me very happy at the time. Even now when I look at them, I don't have any "hatred" for those toys, as they were a chance to finally get new SW toys again, after years of going without due to that dreaded enemy of childhood collecting: the unannounced yard sale.

That said, I had a hard time narrowing my list down to 10 from the post 1998 era...

1. Moff Jerjerrod (Saga, 2006): Granted, this isn't because the figure is particularly bad, but more due to a history I have with it that has not ended to this very day. The Wal-Mart closest to where I live has had a very slowly dwindling stock of Moff Jerjerrods for the last 4.5 years which have NEVER been marked down, have NEVER moved, and will NEVER sell. There are at least 8 Jerjerrods, covered in dust, with cards that have been scuffed, kicked, beaten, and stepped on, still hanging on the pegs in the SW section, STILL at 6.88, and still unwanted. It definitely proves the adage that familiarity breeds contempt, because I have seen that figure so much in this single WM that it has filled me with a totally irrational hatred for a figure which, compared to others on my list, really doesn't suck that badly.

2. Mace Windu (Saga, 2003): This was the first figure I didn't buy at retail, which again, holds a distinction as, up until that point, I had gotten one of EVERY single carded figure to open. One of my friends gave me one as a gag gift because of my disdain for it, and only when I opened it did I realize just how truly horrible it was. Let's stick a huge joystick in the back of a figure, make his arms out of gummi worms, and give him an awful "rectal probe" facial expression. As offensive as some of Hasbro's action features during the 2002-2005 era got, this was probably the pinnacle (or, more accurately, nadir) of that marketing gimmick.

3. Anakin Skywalker (from Swoop Bike, Saga, 2003): I have exactly the same problems with this figure as Jesse so eloquently explained in his post, but the fact that I still have to display his sorry ass on that bike on my shelf due to the lack of an AOTC-era Anakin with ball-jointed hips to replace him with disturbs me even more than any of his flaws. Of which, there are MANY.

4. Explodo-Grievous (ROTS, 2005): I have no idea how this figure even made it out of Hasbro's design team, as most of the ROTS stuff (even the action feature laden toys) was top notch in most respects. It looked, felt, and behaved as if it were a knock-off Happy Meal toy. Its inability to hold together made me momentarily long for the days of the Saga 2002 magnets. The fact that, once the film came out and we saw just how big Grievous actually was, he was horribly underscaled to a degree that hadn't been seen since the POTF2 Chewbacca and Leia, just made things worse.

5. Luminara Unduli (Saga, 2002): As much as Eeth Koth seems to be getting knocked in this thread for his status as a harbinger of action pose doom, I think Luminara beats him in every respect. Lack of articulation? CHECK. Ridiculous pose? DOUBLE CHECK. Saggy lightsaber? TRIPLE CHECK. When the ROTS version hit in 2005, I tossed this one in the "sell" pile and never looked back.

6. Rabe (Post-OTC, 2005): This is probably the one figure that I only keep because Hasbro will probably never do another one ever again. This came out at a time when Hasbro had shown they clearly knew better, and only one wave prior to the start of incredibly detailed Cantina Aliens (Myo, Feltipern, and Jerriko). I know that this figure was part of a wave delayed due to the OT DVD release and the Original Trilogy Collection hustle, but even if compared to the Saga 2004 series it was delayed from, it is subpar in sculpting, detail, and design.

7. C-3P0 (Vintage OTC, 2004): The VOTC figures were pretty much as good as it could get back in 2004, so even when Threepio first hit, it was clear he stunk. He sported less articulation and detail than many mainline, non-premium figures at that point, and at a higher price tag. He was the stinker of the VOTC assortment, and he remains one of the worst figures to this very day, as far as I'm concerned.

8. Clone Trooper (Deluxe with Speeder Bike, Saga 2002 and Clone Wars 2003): Even though 2003's Anakin (from the Swoop Bike) outdoes this one in terms of ridiculous pre-posed sculpt, the Clone carries it to a new level with awkward removable armor, a completely non-functional action feature that resembles the Masturbating Bear from Conan O'Brien's show, and a near-total inability to even interact with the vehicle he comes with. As soon as the 2003 SA CW Clone Trooper hit, he got to ride the bike in my display and this bowlegged aberrant Clone went into the bottom of the "dregs" box.

9. Luke Skywalker (Death Star Duel; Saga, 2003): For all the reasons that everyone else has already gone into at length, this figure offended me on multiple levels. Not the least of which was that I "had to" buy it twice because the first one I got had the "swapped hand" issue. Of course, that's more my problem than the figure's, but hey, it does suck pretty bad.

10. The Emperor (Saga, 2003): I really don't know what Hasbro was trying to accomplish with old Palpy here. That huge hood was silly enough, but the awkward pose that looked like he was trying to do the Wal-Mart "Squiggley Dance" and what I can only describe as "impotent" Force Lightning accessories made this one of the worst non-action feature related figures from the Saga years (2002-2004). The fact that Hasbro reissued him a year after they'd done the superior-in-all-ways Evolutions sculpt in 2006 was yet another strange decision that I can't figure out.

I'd also like to say that saying the figures from 2002-2003's Saga line, for the most part, were horrible is like shooting fish in a barrel; it's far easier to go through and pick out which figures from that era were actually GOOD. I find the majority of those figures far more offensive than ANYTHING that came out of the POTF2 era.

That's the one whose legs can't even move! Is that really an action figure!

Dishonorable mentions:

Jedi Luke is an ongoing joke with Hasbro or was until late last year, that Saga one is the worst but...

The plastic hood looks terrible. They reused that same damn 1995 Luke headsculpt. He's quite tall, too. There's picking on POTF2, but this one seemed off even back then...no, not seemed, it just didn't work.

And there's these guys. LOL. That bear on Conan mention applies to the first one...but a lot of action figures suggest that (Playmates' Trek like was rife with them). The rest....goofy eyed bunch.

Yeah, most things POTF2 would qualify, but I tend to think of them with some nostalgia at this point.

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong; in '95, I was mega-super stoked about them and snagged the whole lot ASAP. Just having new SW merch then was a lot of fun. But beyond the nostalgia factor, those things are just ugly all around.

The only figures i really hate are the ones that are preposed in some awkward body postion or those with non neutral facial expressions. sometimes we are so lucky to get both in one figure. You guys already listed most of them.